HIV and Self Determination

Positive Life NSW is committed to advocating for the rights of people living with HIV and responding to community needs.

The use of cannabis for medical purposes

In 2015, Advocacy and Policy Officer Lance Feeney spoke to the Inquiry into the Regulator of Medicinal Cannabis Bill 2014 on behalf of people with HIV who use cannabis for therapeutic purposes and symptom relief. He called for the decriminalisation of small quantities of cannabis cultivation and possession for medicinal use and the need for research into the use of medicinal cannabis by people with HIV on behalf of the National Association of People With HIV Australia (NAPWHA) and Positive Life NSW.

Rights of the Terminally Ill

In 2013, Positive Life and ACON support The Rights of the Terminally Ill Bill. Positive Life considered that when no other options are available to a person to relieve their pain and suffering that their rational requests to a medical practitioner to end their pain and distress should be respected and granted. Positive Life and ACON therefore considered that the Bill provided strict and acceptable conditions in relation to the operation and monitoring for the assisted dying process. Unfortunately the Bill was defeated in the NSW Parliament.